Thousands spend night outdoors as death toll rises in Nepal

Earthquake victims gather inside their temporary makeshift shelter at a camp for displaced people after the April 25 earthquake, in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 13, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

CHAUTARA - Thousands of fear-stricken people spent the night outdoors after a new earthquake killed dozens of people and spread more misery in Nepal, which is still reeling from a devastating quake that killed more than 8,000 nearly three weeks ago.

A US Marine Corps helicopter carrying six Marines and two Nepalese soldiers was reported missing while delivering disaster aid in northeastern Nepal, US officials said, although there have been no indications the aircraft crashed.

Home ministry official Laxmi Dhakal said Wednesday that army helicopters were scouring the Sunkhani area, nearly 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Kathmandu, for the missing helicopter.

Tuesday's magnitude-7.3 quake, centered between Kathmandu and Mount Qomolangma, struck hardest in the foothills of the Himalayas and triggered landslides that blocked roads to remote villages in several districts. Most of the 65 people confirmed dead by Wednesday morning were in Dolakha district, located northeast of Kathmandu, the district's chief administrator Prem Lal Lamichane said.

"People are terrorized. Everyone is scared here. They spent the night out in the open," Lamichane said, adding the administration was running out of relief material.

He asked the government to send more helicopters and supplies, and said there were many injured people stranded in villages.